How to build the perfect barbecue joint.
Editor’s note: This is the fifth column in a series in which Reid provides advice to would-be barbecue entrepreneurs on “how to build the perfect barbecue joint.” Previous articles addressed service style, smoker types, brisket and sausage; today’s focus is the physical structure.
One of the great things about the Houston barbecue scene is its entrepreneurial spirit. In business terms, there’s a “low barrier to entry” for any ambitious backyard or competition pitmaster who decides to hang out his shingle and start selling barbecue on weekends.
The physical infrastructure needed to sell barbecue is actually quite simple. At its most basic, all you need is a pop-up tent and a table. This is colloquially known as “shade tree barbecue,” from the image of a pitmaster setting up under a tree by the side of the road to sell his wares. Some of Houston’s most storied barbecue joints got their start this way.
I still remember the day in 2012 when I got an invitation to go to Pearland, where chef Ronnie Killen had set up a tent and a table in the parking lot of his steakhouse after deciding to get back into the barbecue business. The rest, as they say, is history — Killen’s Barbecue would open in a permanent location in 2013 and become one of the most celebrated barbecue joints in Texas.
Of course, making the jump directly from tent-and-table to owning a standalone building is a rare feat. For perpetually under-capitalized, would-be barbecue entrepreneurs, there are usually a few steps in between.
One option is to move up to, or just start with, a food truck or trailer. Obviously, this offers a more substantial physical infrastructure with which to make and serve barbecue, and it’s mobile. But it comes with its own set of headaches — the trucks frequently break down, health department regulations are strict, and finding a profitable location to set up shop can be a challenge.
CorkScrew BBQ in Spring started out this way, in a trailer on a patch of grass behind a shopping center just off Interstate 45. Will and Nichole Buckman’s world-class barbecue gained a cultlike following, and they eventually purchased and moved into a permanent location in Old Town Spring in 2015. Another option is to open in a shopping center. When The Brisket House opened in a small strip center in the tony Tanglewood neighborhood, I thought it was a curious location for a barbecue joint. But owner and pitmaster Wayne Kammerl turned the tiny storefront into one of Houston’s best barbecue purveyors. Kammerl would eventually expand with a location in the FM 1960 area but decided to purchase a standalone building.
You may have noticed a pattern here. Many of Houston’s most successful barbecue joints end up purchasing their own standalone building in which to grow their business. Why? Because owning real estate is basically a hedge against the vagaries of the restaurant business while ultimately becoming the retirement plan for the barbecue joints’ owners.
An example of this scenario would be for the owners to purchase the land and building for $500,000, then spend the next 20 years running their business while the value of the land appreciates. When it comes time to retire, they can sell the property for two or three times that.
In 2003, when the Webber family bought the land for Tin Roof BBQ, Atascocita was just another small town on the outskirts of Houston. Now it’s a booming suburb, and Tin Roof is in the thick of Atascocita’s bustling business district. Tin Roof ’s success is certainly based on their great barbecue, but their family’s financial future is also bound to the land it now sits on.
So for the budding barbecue entrepreneur, I recommend taking the long view when it comes to the physical structure that houses your restaurant. Start out small and nimble, in a tent or trailer. Save as much money as you can. Begin looking for a permanent location, preferably in an up-and-coming neighborhood where real-estate values are still reasonable.
Making barbecue is hard enough without spending every day worrying about how you will pay for retirement. The investment in owning a permanent location pays dividends now and especially in the future. Financial peace of mind is a necessary part of making consistently great barbecue.